Coming from a poor family, 18-year-old Liu Cheng-yang (
However, Liu has made the impossible possible by working hard, teaching himself how to play and eventually going on to win the the 2007 Taiwan Music Contest, Hsinchu Culture Cup Music Contest and the National Music Contest.
Lizst inspired
PHOTO: HUNG MEI-HSIU, TAIPEI TIMES
Liu, who studies electronics at the National Hsinchu Senior Industrial Vocational School, said the music of Franz Liszt sparked his interest in the instrument.
However, his family was too poor to pay for piano lessons, so he began working at a convenience store nearby at the age of 15.
After learning of Liu's desire to learn to play the piano, the owner of the convenience store gave him a keyboard.
Discovering that Liu has a talent for playing, she allowed Liu to practice with the piano at her house after work.
Liu later shifted to renting a piano room, whose owner then introduced him to pianist Kuo Feng-wei (
Kuo decided to teach Liu for free and helped him polish his skills.
pride
"Liu is our pride," said Huang Wei-hsien (黃維賢), president of the National Hsinchu Senior Industrial Vocational School.
"As long as he wants to practice, he is welcome to use any of our pianos for free anytime," he said.
Liu said he still dreams of owning a piano, adding that he hopes to design a new type of electronic piano in the future.
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The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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